Chapter 20: Chapter 20
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Westbrook.
Sakura Street Bayview Apartment, Floor 6.
Tang Yu was about to leave when he was stopped by Lucy's sincere "evaluation" at the door. It wasn't that he was unwilling to learn more about the legendary life of the silver-haired girl before him, but she seemed to have a strong innate aversion and wariness towards Arasaka.
Even if she were eligible for the legendary life simulation, Tang Yu currently wasn't able to activate a grey simulation button, so he concluded that the timing wasn't ripe and fate was not yet in place.
Another reason why Tang Yu was so persistent in teaming up with Maine's crew was that he also found a grey option for life simulation in Maine, which implied that Maine's future could possibly be legendary too, perhaps even fulfilling his destined legendary life before Tang Yu's own rebirth.
Thinking about the fate of the legendary life, Tang Yu couldn't help but mutter.
"Who was it in my past life that said, legends are all buried in the ground…"
Lucy noticed Tang Yu seemed to have murmured something, not hearing it clearly, she frowned slightly and asked.
"What about the grave?"
Tang Yu did not want to discuss this heavy topic and casually deflected it with anything that came to mind. Luckily, he caught sight of the conspicuous old poster on the wall.
The poster depicted an astronaut, pointing ahead with an impassioned expression as if to announce loudly.
"Embrace your new life."
And at the center of the poster was a rocket soaring into the sky, ending with a marketing slogan.
Trip to the moon for only 250,000 Eurodollars.
It was clearly an advertisement poster, and under normal circumstances, no one would hang such a thing in their home, especially not in such a prominent position.
"It's nothing, I mean what you said is right, Arasaka is just a rotten graveyard. Following them only leads to a bad end."
As he said this, Tang Yu couldn't help but recall the time when he and his sister V climbed the Arasaka Tower, hacking their way from the first to the hundred and thirty-third floor until their blades were dulled; back then, the Arasaka Tower did indeed resemble an upright grave marker or tombstone.
Lucy clearly sensed that Tang Yu's heart wasn't in the conversation and turned her face away, no longer looking at him as if she felt it pointless to discuss such things with a corporate drone.
"What's up with that tacky poster on the wall?"
No sooner had she spoken than Lucy's previously calm gaze faded away, and she put out the cigarette butt in the ashtray with a cold tone.
"Do you have a problem with it?"
Tang Yu couldn't deny it and looked at the marketing poster of the moon on the wall.
"I have no comment on personal preferences, but it just reminded me of a few songs about the moon. You probably haven't heard them, like 'Talking to the Moon' (note 1)."
Lucy withdrew her cold gaze and turned her head towards the window, murmuring.
"Talking to the moon..."
"I haven't heard of it."
Seeing that she was still giving half-hearted responses, Tang Yu simply shrugged his shoulders to avoid making himself look silly. He whistled a tune about the moon as he nonchalantly left with his hands in his pockets.
The silver-haired girl changed her posture and continued to lazily lounge on the bay window, the fleeting melody drifting to her ears from the stairwell.
A moment later.
She chuckled softly to herself...
The next day.
"Master, good morning, it is now seven o'clock. A new day has begun..."
Under the control of the smart home assistant, the curtains of the entire apartment slowly opened, and the morning sunlight filtered through the mist, rousing the sleeping Tang Yu.
Boil water, open windows for ventilation, broadcast weather and traffic information, and tune in to television programs – these tasks were all completed by the smart home assistant.
Although Tang Yu didn't live in the high-end North Oak area of Westbrook like some of his colleagues, he still maintained a certain standard of living quality.
The upscale apartment he now lived in was located in Watson district's Little China. While Little China could not be considered as an affluent area, it was close to his workplace at the Corporate Plaza in the city center, and the rent was more affordable as compared to living right in the downtown area.
Most importantly, the traditions of Little China were inherited from the old country. Yearly festivals retained the practices from back home, giving him a deeper sense of belonging.
Just like always, Tang Yu got up from his bed in his apartment, stretched lazily, put on his portable communicator over his left eye, checking messages of the day as he went to freshen up in the washroom.[You have six unresolved work emails...]
[A new issue of "Night City Perspective" to which you are subscribed has been released, featuring results of the medium education institution evaluation in Night City...]
[You have one new message from Gloria Martinez...]
Tang Yu automatically skipped the other content and directly checked the message from Gloria, which was an invitation to meet for dinner.
After freshening up, he walked into the open-plan kitchen to make a simple breakfast—frying two eggs and some beef slices. Because of a past outbreak of a large-scale poultry disease, Night City had banned live poultry slaughter and breeding five years ago, so most of the meat was vacuum-packed and transported from outside the city, often at a steep price.
The TV was showing the news program hosted by the well-known Night City presenter Stan.
"Good morning, Night City!"
The host Stan, dressed in a glittering gold suit, stood in a studio with pink interior decor, and began his news broadcast.
"The Dead Man's Lotto has been drawn again!"
"The results are unexpected, a complete fifty!"
"Thanks to the unending gang shootouts, the strongmen of the Animals gang put on a 'Fast & Furious' show on the highway."
The screen was showing footage of Tang Yu's recent car chase with the members of the Animals gang on the overpass.
"But even in Corporate Plaza, known for its safety, more than twenty NCPD officers bit the dust. Looks like you're all going to owe money!"
"After all, the one behind this is a cyberpsycho—since when do psychos pay for damages?"
The screen then switched to the Corporate Plaza, showing NCPD officers fighting with the cyberpsycho and then the clean-up of the scene after the psycho was taken down.
The Civic Center, as the safest area according to NCPD evaluations, had always been heavily patrolled, and such violent attacks were rare.
Especially since the headquarters of many major companies were based in Corporate Plaza, the cyberpsycho attack had put significant PR pressure on the NCPD.
Tang Yu did not pay much attention to the details; for these out-of-date news items, most people were more interested in the spectacle itself.
That was life in Night City—lose your life, and you become just another piece of gossip to entertain the audience.
"Meanwhile, the Trauma Team in Westbrook is still picking up bodies off the sidewalks—victims of cyberpsychosis."
"And in Pacifica…"
"Well…"
"Pacifica is still the same old Pacifica."
"I'm your bro Stan."
"Join me."
"And let's start a new day chasing dreams in Night City!"
Tang Yu put on a well-fitting shirt, deliberately adding a black trench coat over his suit to not look as drab as the day before, at least giving him a breath of life, less of a corporate drone.
All set, Tang Yu put on his shoes, fastened his over-ear headphones, turned on some music, and left the house.
He still took the public aerotrain, standing before the transparent glass gates and watching the city's skyline at dawn.
Listening to music through headphones, Tang Yu's gaze drifted subconsciously left and right in the carriage, noting that the passengers kept to themselves in silent unspoken agreement.
And the vibrant, ice-blue silvery figure from yesterday had just seemed to swim by silently and disappear without a trace.
The train arrived at the station, and Tang Yu disembarked and headed towards the towering desolation of Arasaka Tower, starting another day as a corporate dog.
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